Radiat Oncol J.  2014 Sep;32(3):132-137. 10.3857/roj.2014.32.3.132.

Clinical outcomes after sentinel lymph node biopsy in clinically node-negative breast cancer patients

• Han HJ
• Kim JR
• Nam HR
• Keum KC
• Suh CO
• Kim YB

• KMID: 2316727
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3857/roj.2014.32.3.132

Abstract

PURPOSE
To evaluate non-sentinel lymph node (LN) status after sentinel lymph node biopsy (SNB) in patients with breast cancer and to identify the predictive factors for disease failure.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
From January 2006 to December 2007, axillary lymph node (ALN) dissection after SNB was performed for patients with primary invasive breast cancer who had no clinical evidence of LN metastasis. A total of 320 patients were treated with breast-conserving surgery and radiotherapy.
RESULTS
The median age of patients was 48 years, and the median follow-up time was 72.8 months. Close resection margin (RM) was observed in 13 patients. The median number of dissected SNB was two, and that of total retrieved ALNs was 11. Sentinel node accuracy was 94.7%, and the overall false negative rate (FNR) was 5.3%. Eleven patients experienced treatment failure. Local recurrence, regional LN recurrence, and distant metastasis were identified in 0.9%, 1.9%, and 2.8% of these patients, respectively. Sentinel LN status were not associated with locoregional recurrence (p > 0.05). Close RM was the only significant factor for disease-free survival (DFS) in univariate and multivariate analysis. The 5-year overall survival, DFS, and locoregional DFS were 100%, 96.8%, and 98.1%, respectively.
CONCLUSION
In this study, SNB was performed with high accuracy and low FNR and high locoregional control was achieved.

Keyword

Breast neoplasms; Sentinel lymph node biopsy; Axillary lymph node dissection; Neoplasm recurrence; Local

MeSH Terms

Breast Neoplasms*
Disease-Free Survival
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Lymph Nodes
Mastectomy, Segmental
Multivariate Analysis
Neoplasm Metastasis
Radiotherapy
Recurrence
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy*
Treatment Failure